We are excited to connect with members of the press and we (Jake & Justin) are available for interviews in person, on the phone, on Skype or via email. Below is some basic information about the film. We also have prepared a special Information Kit for members of the press and we’d be happy to send you one at your request. Just drop us a line and we will email it to you. You may also download high-resolution images and logos you might want to use here.
Synopsis
Be prepared to be amazed as Scout Troop 759 heads from the streets of Harlem to the woods of Camp Keowa. Eleven year old new scout Keith Dozier spends his first week at camp facing the challenges of the woods - the dock test in the deep dark lake, creepy creatures of the night, the daunting climbing tower, the raucous dining hall and the seductive Siberian sirens of the kitchen. With help from his fellow Scouts KC, Devon and Manny and wise Scoutmaster Sowah, young Keith faces the challenges and earns his place as a Scout. 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem is a warm, tender, and funny family documentary about Scouting in an unexpected place.
Exhibition Format: 72 minute digital projection
Sound Format: Stereophonic
Production Format: HD 1080i
World Premiere – March 14th, 2009
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture 515 Malcolm X Boulevard,
Harlem NYC; free community screening sponsored by the New York Life Junior Scholar’s
Program; capacity crowd of 340
Air Craft Carrier Premiere – March 28th, 2009
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum Pier 86th, 12th Avenue & 46th Street,
Manhattan, NYC; free community screening sponsored by the the Boy Scouts of
America Greater New York Councils; capacity crowd of 254
A Production of: Be Prepared Pictures LLC
Co-Directed by: Jake Boritt & Justin Szlasa
Cinematography by: Jake Boritt
Edited by: Justin Szlasa & Manahi Taber-Kewene
Music Supervision: Patrick Byers
Produced by: Justin Szlasa
All distribution rights are retained by the producers.
759: Boy Scouts of Harlem was shot over the course of 2007 and 2008 in New York City and at Camp Keowa, part of Ten Mile River Scout Camp in Narrowsburg New York. Directors Jake Boritt and Justin Szlasa effectively became part of the Troop 759 family to earn the trust of their subjects. 759 was shot on the Sony Z1U in HDV and edited on FinalCut Pro in New York City. Additional footage was provided by the TMR Scout Museum. 759: Boy Scouts of Harlem was independently financed on a micro-budget by Justin Szlasa. The film received cooperation and enthusiastic approval from the Boy Scouts of America Greater New York Councils, and the Boy Scouts of America, but the project received no material support from the Scouts.
By the numbers:
Year Boy Scouts was founded in the United States: 1910
Year the Boy Scouts of America will celebrate its 100th anniversary: 2010
Number of Americans who have been active in Scouting: 112,000,000
Number of countries with Scouting programs: 156
Estimated number of Scouts who will attend the BSA Jamboree to celebrate
100 years of Scouting at Fort AP Hill, Virginia: 40,000
Year Franklin Delano Roosevelt coordinated the purchase of the land that
would become Ten Mile River Scout Camps and Camp Keowa: 1927
As of 2007, total number of Scouts who have earned Cinematography merit
badge with requirements designed by Stephen Spielberg: 57,212
Cost to send a Scout to Camp Keowa in upstate New York for one week
(including room and board): $290
Cost to send a child to Southwoods Summer camp in upstate New York for
one week (not including baggage service fee): $1,510
Percentage of new Scouts who will eventually earn Eagle Scout: 2%
Number of merit badges required to earn Eagle Scout: 21
Percentage of Americans who have been to the moon who are Eagle Scouts:
100%
Year Michael Bloomberg earned Eagle Scout: 1955
Year Michael Moore earned Eagle Scout: 1970*
Year David Lynch earned Eagle Scout: 1961